Protocol Magi :ORIGIN / Episode 3

The Orange Flame is the second episode of Protocol Magi :ORIGIN.

Characters

 * Mashiro Mitsu
 * Nakajima Shiori / Aubade
 * Oshiro Hanako / Hyacinth
 * Abe Kira / Solstice
 * Shitto
 * Kira's mother
 * Kira's father (Mentioned)
 * Aoyama Anna (Mentioned)
 * Kawamiya-sensei (Mentioned)
 * White Ghost (Mentioned)

Episode
Kira had already changed into the leotard she used for practise, and was now effortlessly gliding around the rink. Occasionally, she picked up speed, before leaning her feet forward – grabbing the ice with the spikes on her skates, and humped high into the air, twirling, before landing again. After her eleventh jump, the doors to the skating rink opened, and Mitsu called, “how can you do that?!”

Kira laughed, and skated over to the edge of the rink, “it’s not that hard. Practise,” she said. “Oh, and your laces aren’t tight enough.” Mitsu looked down at her own feet, where she had secured her own (borrowed) skates, and groaned. “It’s harder than it looks,” she grumbled. This prompted another laugh out of Kira. “Here,” she said, “sit down, and I’ll help you.” Begrudgingly, Mitsu sat down on one of the nearby stands. Kira easily walked over on her skates, kneeled down, and tightened Mitsu’s laces, before pulling the other girl up, and helping her walk to the ice. “Just like riding a bike,” Kira said.

“…Right,” Mitsu replied, “like riding a bike. Riding a biiIIIKEEEE!! …ow.” Mitsu had taken one step onto the ice, and was now sitting on the ice a couple of meters away, with Kira struggling to keep her laughter in.

“Oh, haha.” Mitsu replied. “Laugh at the newbie. Real mature, ace.” That was all that was needed to make Kira loose the fight to hold back her laughter, and she started giggling, staying that way a good minute, before skating over to Mitsu, and pulled her up.

“Maybe start with actually keeping your balance?” The bluehaired girl asked. “Here, stand flat on your feet. Don’t try to walk normally, because that won’t work. At all. Just, stand.”

“Ooh, how exciting.” Mitsu did as she was told, despite the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“Don’t be rude, Mashiro-san, it is not appropriate”, Kira voiced, imitating a certain teacher the other girl had a slight disdain towards. “No. No. Don’t. Just… Don’t,” Mitsu said. “You’re far too accurate with that. Do NOT imitate Kawamiya-sensei. I already have to deal with one. Not another as well.”

Kira burst out laughing once more, knowing well actually how much Mitsu disagreed with the teacher. At a different place, things were not so jovial. Shitto was pacing. She knew she was in trouble. While Munouna had failed more than a dozen times before he was taken from his position, Shitto was not liking the current two failures. Because that was what they were.

“Pandora-sama wants an explanation as to why you’ve yet to deliver”, the voice that Shitto had started to despise rang in her head.

“I am aware”, Shitto replied. “Bad days.”

“Do you really think you can excuse yourself with that?”

“It’s the truth.” Shitto wasn’t very impressed with the owner of the voice; merely being another grunt who relayed orders and got some kind of delusions of grandeur from that. “And you are hardly one to question me. What have you possibly done to aid Pandora-sama’s cause? Right, nothing.” “My position is of no concern of yours, Commoner”, the other’s voice was biting. ''“And might I ask you the same question. What have you done to aid Pandora-sama’s cause?”''

“Unless you’ve been living under a rock,” Shitto spat, “I’ve been doing progress. I know roughly which area to search. Just because I may have had to retreat once or twice, it doesn’t mean that I have lost.”

“If that is what makes you sleep better at night, then I will not contradict you.”

Shitto closed her eyes and exhaled, trying to keep her agitation at bay, and keep herself from resorting to violence. “In case you want to not want to live your worst nightmares,” she said, her voice dripping with malice, “I suggest you leave. Now.”

The other didn’t respond, and Shitto could only assume they had left. She was both glad, and not. She had almost hoped that the other Messenger would actually give her a reason to use her powers on the other. If nothing else, then for her own peace of mind.

Her hands formed tight fists briefly, before relaxing again and grasping her tracking device and disappearing from the room. An hour later, a certain pair of formerly ice-skating friends left the large building, and Kira stretched her arms over her shoulders, letting out a satisfied hum. Beside her, Mitsu walked with a slight limp. She hadn’t exactly gotten better at keeping her balance.

“I’m going to have bruises tomorrow,” she stated, rubbing a sore spot on her upper arm where she had landed. “And I’ll blame you if anyone asks why I’m limping.”

Kira laughed. “You do that. Did you have fun, though?”

“…Surprisingly,” Mitsu shrugged, “yes. But no telling the others! I’ll never hear the end of it!”

“And are you sure I’ll let you forget it?”

“You’re not as bad as Anna. She’ll never let me live it down,” Mitsu replied. “Seriously, don’t tell them.”

“Fine, fine,” Kira relented. “If they ask, I’ll say that we spent the entire day at my house, doing each others hair, painting out nails, doing make-up, talking about boys-…” “KIIIRA!” Mitsu whined. The pair walked back to Kira’s home, talking about nothing and everything. Opening the door, Kira cried, “I’m home! Mitsu’s here too!”

Out of the doorway to the kitchen, Kira’s mother walked out, wearing an apron and wiping her hands on a towel. “Ah, hello you two,” she smiled. “Did you have a good time at the rink?”

Kira laughed. “It was fun, but Mitsu might be sporting bruises the next couple of days.” “Oh really?” Kira’s mother smiled. “Don’t feel too bad about that, dear. I remember the first date Kira’s father took me on. Or rather, I suppose, my backside remember-…”

“MOM!” Kira yelled, mortified. Why, out of all possible topics, did she have to pick that?

“Oh?” the woman faked innocence. “Well, I never got better, in all honesty. Kira really has her father to thank for her talent. Here I am, and can’t stand straight on a pair of skates without falling on my face, and my daughter is competing in the Nationals!” “…” Mitsu looked at Kira. Kira looked down, trying to avoid having to admit it. “Nationals?” Mitsu asked.

“No, it’s not that big-…”

“Yes, the Nationals! Isn’t that lovely?”

“Mom,” Kira said. “Please, shut up.” “Oh? I wasn’t supposed to tell? Sorry!” She asked, before moving back into the kitchen again “Foods ready in an hour, if you want it!” The two teenagers made their way into Kira’s room, where she placed her skating bag on the floor.

“So,” Mitsu asked after a minute. “Nationals? Last time, you said it was a local competition!”

The reply she got, was too quiet to make out.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“… Junior Nationals,” Kira repeated. “It’s nothing as fancy as mom says it is-…” “SURE IT IS!” came from the kitchen.

“SHUT UP, MOM!”

“NEVER! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW, SWEETIE!”

“IT’S NOT!”

“IS TOO!” How the tables turned; An hour ago, Kira had been the one to try and keep her amusement under wraps, and now, it was Mitsu. “IT’S JUST A JUNIOR TOURNAMENT!” Kira yelled back.

“THAT’S NOT HOW IT SOUNDED WHEN YOU RECEIVED THE NOTICE THAT YOU QUALIFIED!” That was it. The embarrassed look on Kira’s face that was the final drop. Mitsu started laughing, and wasn’t able to keep it to silent giggles either. It seemed the trend of laughter would carry on throughout the day; Mitsu, Kira, and Kira’s mother cracked jokes all through lunch, leading to a very giggly mood. No matter what anyone said, everyone would laugh. Even if Mitsu had no idea what some of the stories were about (“Or what about that time in Kumakami? You know when you tripped into a tree?”), she still laughed, because she somehow still found it funny. They kept laughing, and the meal was extended way over the time that originally had been planned. After three hours of only talking, Mitsu realized that maybe it’d be best if she started heading home. “Thanks for today, I’ll be goi-..”Mitsu trailed off when her hand reached into her pocket that usually held her phone and grabbed for it, only to grasp nothing but air. “Wait, where’s my phone?”

“…Did you forget to bring it back from the rink?”

“…Maybe?”

“Then let’s go,” Kira smiled. Walking back to the rink took considerably less time than it had taken walking from there to Kira’s home, for some ‘unknown’ reason. They were chatting whilst walking, and had just made it inside the doors when a large crash interrupted the pair. “What was that?” Mitsu asked. “Hey! Kira! Wait up!” She dashed after the other girl as she raced towards the doors of the rink. “What are you-… Oh for the love of-…” They could see inside the large hall through the glass windows in the doors. Inside the rink that was now filled with debree from the roof, was a large shade that looked as though it had been created by using various hockey equipment, judging my the large pucks and hockey clubs decorating it. “Another one?” Mitsu asked. “And why here, of all places?”

“That doesn’t matter right now, Mitsu,” Kira replied. “I’ll check the changing rooms, you get outside and call the police!”

“It doesn’t matter that it’s here?!” Mitsu replied. “Excuse me, but every, single time a monster attacks a place that seems rather odd in anime, it’s usually a diversion, or another special event is about to happen!” Evidently, Mitsu hadn’t learned from her previous experiences; The Shades evidently had ears, and of course, it noticed the pair. “Great job Mitsu,” Kira said. “Great job.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault! You could’ve-…” Kira pushed her away from the doors, narrowly avoiding a puck wider than they were tall crash through the doors. Briefly staring at the large projectile, Kira was the first to snap into action once more. “MITSU, GO!” she yelled, before turning around to make it past the giant black cylinder.

“Okay, first of all,” Mitsu grabbed Kira’s wrist, “the police can’t do anything! And secondly, I am not leaving you! I’ve already managed to survive two near-encounters with a monster! I have a bigger chance at surviving!”

“You’re basing your logic on that?!” Kira asked. “The fact that you’ve already gotten too close for comfort to a thing like that is exactly why you should not stay! You’re pushing your luck!”

“It’s not luck!” Mitsu insisted.

“Yes it is! It was luck that Aubade arrived in time both times!” “That doesn’t mean anything! Statistically-…”

“Statistically, nothing ever gets done unless you start doing it, so get outside, and call the police!”

“You didn’t even let me finish!”

“And statistically the more trained your body is, the higher chance of survival you have when faced with an unfamiliar situation! You are a lot of things, Mitsu, but fit is not one of them!” Mitsu hadn’t even realized that Kira had switched the grip, and had been pulling Mitsu toward the exit, pushing her out the door.

From where she stood outside the skating hall, Mitsu saw the giant Shade towering out of a hole in the ceiling. Unknowingly to her, when Kira started running back towards the rink, she had also pulled out her phone, recording a short message for the group chat. “Guys, I have an emergency at the ice rink. Shade. Get here ASAP.” Only seconds after she sent it, Shiori had replied in a short message; ‘On our way.’

Kira pocketed the device, and touched her right earring. What stopped the Magi-maniac from turning around running back into the building, however, was the sight of a girl in a black dress with a yellow hem levitating near the Shade looking at some sort of device in her hands. Tilting her head, Mitsu tried to figure out who the girl could possibly be – even going through her extensive collection of knowledge of Magical Girl shows. The only possible conclusion she could come to, was that the levitating girl was some sort of Commander who created the monster. ‘Oh shit!’ Mitsu thought, and dashed into the building again. Kira was in more danger than she knew! Mitsu needed to find her and tell her. And maybe, if she was lucky, she could become a Magi? Going by almost every Magical Girl show ever, there was almost always a Commander present when someone transformed for the first time; And Mitsu was not about to stand by when that was a possibility. Shitto wasn’t very happy, and Pandora wasn’t either, with her recent failures. And now, when she had launched an attack on this skating rink, of course one of the Magi just had to be there. And somehow, the orange menace was not being off put by the slippery flooring.

The screen didn’t even show a hit like it had that first day either. Just Shitto’s luck. She frowned as a breeze swayed her hair. Her eyes narrowed, and she twisted in the air, raising her arms to block a mana-enhanced punch from a certain red-headed Magi. The first attack was successfully blocked, but unfortunately for Shitto, Hyacinth wasn’t limited to using her right arm. Mitsu made it into the hall just in time to see Shitto crash into the ground only metres in front of her. Staggered, this caused her to stop. She looked up, and saw a red figure placing her feet against a blue ripple behind her, and shot down after the commander. “Tch”, Shitto clicked her tongue as she rose up. A blue cylinder appeared around her, causing an irritated frown to appear on her face. “You really are pests, aren’t you?”

Hyacinth landed a second later, shortly followed by Aubade, the latter of whom’s frown deepened when she took notice of Mitsu. “Who are you, and why are you here?” Aubade demanded, whilst Hyacinth approached Mitsu – still keeping an eye on the trapped Messenger. “You really need to leave,” Hyacinth said. “We do our job properly if we have to worry about civilians.”

“Then let me help you! Make me a Magical Girl!” Mitsu replied.

“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid,” the red-clad warrior smiled sheepishly. Shitto rolled her eyes. “Why I am here is of no concern to you.”

Aubade scoffed. “You attack our planet, summoning giant monsters that both terrify and hurt people, and you say it doesn’t concern us? Yeah, no.”

Shitto frowned. “I am Shitto, and you’ve just been tricked.” She faded from view. “Of course she can do that,” Aubade grumbled, already turning around towards the shade Solstice had been keeping occupied. “Of course. I hate illusionists.” Then, she spoke up. “Hyacinth. Let’s go. If she wants to be a suicidal bastard, then leave her to it.”

Mitsu was surprised when Hyacinth actually laughed. “You’re still upset by that, are you?”

The pair ran toward the Shade, pushing it back, and trading a few blows. Despite Aubade's harsh words earlier, she evidently kept an eye on the maniac, as when one puck came a smidge too close to the non-Magi, it ricocheted off a blue ripple that had appeared out of thin air. Mitsu failed to notice this until the ricocheted puck crashed into the wall behind her.

Then, the Shade pulled back, before charging at them. Both Aubade and Hyacinth jumped out of harms way, but Solstice was hit full force. She was sent hurling straight through a wall with a resounding CRACK. Mitsu made an effort to move forward to check on the orange Magi, but Aubade’s outstretched arm held her back. “What are you doing?!” Mitsu demanded. “Your teammate just got thrown through a wall, and you’re not going to make sure they’re okay?!”

Aubade didn’t even answer, merely looking at the large cloud of dust where Solstice had hit.

“You’re not going to do anything?!”

“Do us all a favour,” Aubade finally replied, “and shut up.”

"Wha-…” Mitsu was utterly indignant. What kind of leader was Aubade?! She didn’t even care about her own team mate? Orange could have died, and Aubade wouldn’t care?! “Listen here, you-…” She was interrupted by a war-cry as an orange blur shot out of the smoke, and then, when the girl’s palms made contact with the shade, a shockwave pushed all of them back. “Solstice RAMPAGE!” A orange burst of light shot out in a cone shape in front of Solstice, clouding her completely in orange light. The light separated into small tendrils and shot through the Shade, pushing a small, black pearl out with them. The streams of light collected into a kneeling humanoid figure again on the other side of the Shade, and then faded away to reveal the orange Magi. The pearl cracked and turned to dust. Solstice took a deep breath and rose up, although she seemed to be a bit wobbly. In an instance, Aubade was beside her, steadying the other Magi. “How are you doing?” The worried expression on her face surprised Mitsu more than she thought it should have. “Yes,” Hyacinth said. “Aubade cares a lot. More than most, I’d say. She’s the best leader we could ask for. She's been fighting for several years longer than us others. Her experience is invaluable.”

“B-but why wouldn’t she check on-… her before?” Mitsu asked, gesturing in the direction of the two Magi.

“It’s Solstice’s power,” Hyacinth said. “The more hurt she is, the more powerful she becomes.”

“…What?” Hyacinth only smiled. “I’m sorry, but I need to go,” she said. “And you really should stop showing up here. You were almost crushed earlier. You might not be so lucky next time.” She walked towards the other two, but paused after a few steps. “Your friend is fine. We got to her in time to bring her out of here before things got critical.” Then, the three Magi were gone, and left a rather desolate and destroyed ice rink behind them. “Solstice, huh?” Mitsu spoke to herself, her missing phone temporarily forgotten.

Trivia

 * This episode marks the debut of Kira as Solstice.
 * This episode is the first one where Solstice Rampage is used.
 * While Mitsu's inaptness at skating was planned, a lot of the falls were genuine.